Have you wondered about making the leap from foundation into a degree?

First year student Brooke opens up about her journey from foundation year to her first undergraduate degree term, and how art has been a part of it all.

About Me

Tell us about yourself.

I am from London, and was brought up in north London. Actually born in Australia and 1/4 Filipino and Spanish and 1/2 English.

During A-levels is when I realised that art was the subject I most enjoyed and the easiest for me to understand and relate to.

Credit: ‘Block Smash’ by Brooke Wilson. “The plaster blocks are solid plaster blocks that each contain a different item; a lighter, a whistle and a cork. I then did a performance piece where I smashed one of the blocks until I revealed the object.”

My work is very concept-based and heavily dependent on research, especially contextual essays. My work generally takes quite a minimalistic aesthetic due to not being so heavily focused on outcome and rather the ideas. It means more time spent attempting to develop/ further my understanding of the project rather than worrying about a ‘final’ outcome. The outcome comes as a result of the research once I’ve finally understood my aims for the project.

My Work

Did you know right away what type of artist you wanted to become?

To be honest I didn’t actually think i was going to study art. Until I realised that it actually was the main ‘passion’ in my life, as cheesy as that sounds. After realising that, I knew I needed to do a foundation, and that’s when I found myself on the Insights programme. Which not only helped me better and expand my work, but gave me a new found determination to succeed and the platform I needed to do so.

What’s the best thing you’ve done so far?

My last project was by far the best artistic thing I’ve done so far. It just opened my eyes to the different possibilities of art and also taught me a new way of looking and approaching projects for the future.

Credit: ‘Ladder piece’ by Brooke Wilson. “This was my final piece for foundation, based on the ideas of reduction.”

What do you think makes you a good artist?

I would have to say my dedication. Something I’ve always had, which has grown over the last couple of years. I’ve learnt an array of new skills in order to help my practice such as technical skills, involving software and also just general skills involving the presentation and promotion of my work.

“Team work is vital in every aspect in art as it allows for good communication, whether that be from you to a technician or a group of people helping.”

What inspires you?

Questions, I absolutely love questions. I often write myself a list of extensive questions at the start of a project, which I then aim to answer by the end of it. Questions are key to expanding your knowledge they’re so important. You just need to question everything – but don’t get too lost in a question, it’s easy to do trust me!

Credit: [From left to right] ‘Ubiquitous’ and ‘Room’ by Brooke Wilson. ‘Ubiquitous’ is a whole load of ubiquitous objects in an elaborate hallway. The other image is a writing-based piece where I made almost like a visual sculpture with the word ‘room’ then hung it on a wall in a room.”

Any top tips?

Less is always more, I guess it depends on the art you create but for me I would say I live by that.

Experiment until you can’t experiment anymore, because more often than not, whilst experimenting you will have your eureka moment and often accidentally create/realise something amazing.

And my last piece of advice would be find your passion within art and don’t stop exploring it.

What’s next?

For the future I hope to expand my practice, and develop in new ways and maybe actually find a job within the art world. But we will just have to wait and see!